Poker Video:
Misc/Other
by BalugaWhale
(Micro/Small Stakes)

The Blueprint: Episode Nine

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The Blueprint: Episode Nine by BalugaWhale

BalugaWhale breaks the myth of the illusive white whale and tells his story of how he came to be a great poker player.

About The Blueprint

In this series our founders and EPs talk about their experiences with poker throughout their lives and give advice to those at the grind or just starting out. There is something to be learned for new and experienced players alike.

solecism

I want to advice everybody to take breaks during sessions. I play 500 hands (about 1 hour 6 tabling), take a break of 15/30 mins, and go back to playing. This has dramaticaly increased my Winrate !

haha, I do the EXACT same thing. I take a break every 500 hands (takes me about 45 mins to get that, and I only break sometimes for 10 mins, tho sometimes for an hour).

Its improved my winrate a TON, and a big part is not only am I playing more focused when im playing, but its also dramatically helped me not slip into my C game when I take some beats. If I drop a few buy ins I get in that "cant quit stuck mode!" and dont play as well, but I force myself to quit at 500 hands, and that break allows my emotions to fade away and I come back without all that negative energy and I dont slip into that state, and I think even tho those spots arent all that frequent the amount saved when they occur is very impactful.

Fresh_David

haha, I do the EXACT same thing. I take a break every 500 hands (takes me about 45 mins to get that, and I only break sometimes for 10 mins, tho sometimes for an hour).

Its improved my winrate a TON, and a big part is not only am I playing more focused when im playing, but its also dramatically helped me not slip into my C game when I take some beats. If I drop a few buy ins I get in that "cant quit stuck mode!" and dont play as well, but I force myself to quit at 500 hands, and that break allows my emotions to fade away and I come back without all that negative energy and I dont slip into that state, and I think even tho those spots arent all that frequent the amount saved when they occur is very impactful.

I try not to watch how much i'm up or down. And only open HEM at the end of the 500 hands.

Baluga is talking about having Fun at the tables. He's def right.

I think the fun in this game comes from studying what you did right, and what you did wrong. And fortunatly, you can FIX your leaks ! (winning or loosing is just a consequence of you plugging those leaks.)

Ass Get to Jigglin

One thing i have a question on: i understand your reasoning for suggesting that forums posts be made shorter, but at the same time there are many hands that require more in-depth analysis using math and listing multiple variables that affect how the hand should be played. I've heard other coaches say that while you wont be able to go through this longer in-depth analysis in-game, you should still do it when out of game as this will attune your instincts and intuitions to react better to similar spots when in-game.

Whats your take on this? Should we balance it by making some posts as short as possible, while taking more time and going into more depth in other posts when called for?

BalugaWhale

One thing i have a question on: i understand your reasoning for suggesting that forums posts be made shorter, but at the same time there are many hands that require more in-depth analysis using math and listing multiple variables that affect how the hand should be played. I've heard other coaches say that while you wont be able to go through this longer in-depth analysis in-game, you should still do it when out of game as this will attune your instincts and intuitions to react better to similar spots when in-game.

Whats your take on this? Should we balance it by making some posts as short as possible, while taking more time and going into more depth in other posts when called for?

i hope this post wasnt too long : )

haha no its a fine length

my point is this-- we need to train ourselves to think about poker in the simplest of terms. if you can take complex math and boil it down to its truly important essence, and express that essence quickly and easily, then drawn-out math can be very helpful. i know several players who've made millions from it. however, its just a means to an end-- there's lots of ways to get to the simple conclusions, math is just one of them